Landlords - do you always have a key to your properties?

[mrslevy]

This is not strictly important any more but I'd love an answer because I suspect this landlord thinks I'm a simpleton and there will be more nonsense to come.

I live in a flat below another which is empty because the tenant was ill. I own mine, she rented hers and her landlord recently bought it as a buy-to-let.

A friend let herself in with the tenant's key to pick some things up and accidentally damaged a pipe. We were away for a week and it flooded my flat causing a lot of damage.

I contacted the landlord as soon as I got home and asked him to shut the water off. He claimed he didn't have the key and there was nothing he could do. Three days later environmental health got the key from the tenant (she was registered with social services) and stopped the water.

Am I right in thinking this man was lying to me and had a key all along but cba to drive 2-3 hrs to get here and back? To be honest, I feel stupid even asking that but maybe it's true.

I know a landlord can't just march in whenever he likes but surely this was an emergency. Landlords do generally have keys, don't they? I know the tenant hadn't changed the locks.

And even if he didn't have a key, he could break in in those circumstances, couldn't he?

He's not my landlord, btw, in fact I'm now his because I part own the freehold and he's a leaseholder.

I have one for both btl properties but i seem to remember a thread a while ago where some tenants were affronted because their landlords had a key so you never know. but it does sound like he's making an excuse. not sure what you can do about it now though?

We own a rental house and for a period we didn't have a key. We used to live in the house ourselves and shortly before we moved out, DH decided to paint the front door. This involved removing the door handle. He didn't put it back quite right and the tenant got locked out so FIL went over (we were living 250 miles away at the time) and fitted a new handle and lock. He just kept a spare key and we didn't have one ourselves for probably about 2 years.

We would have been able to access a key obviously - if we had needed to - as FIL had one.

Seems very odd that he wouldn't want to shut the water off - surely it would have been damaging his own property too?

my landlord doesnt have a key.

I'm a LL and think it would be a bit weird not to have a key or at least have a means of getting into the flat when necessary (keys held by managing agent or local contact if I lived a long way away). He sounds a twat and I hope the excess on the insurance is very high.

We rent out a couple of houses in England (live Overseas) we do have a spare key but as its a seven hour flight the other spare is with the letting agent.

The tennants do not have our contact details and deal solely with the letting agent (7% well spent IMHO)

Landlords and/or the agent usually have a key but if the tenant has changed the locks at anytime and not told the LL then it is feasible.

Thanks everyone for replying.

I thought he was lying and being a twat but it's nice to have it confirmed.

The flat is empty and in a poor state (eccentric registered tenant) but if I was him I'd have wanted to prevent damage to my own flat and upsetting neighbours, particularly if they're freeholders and I wanted to buy in, as he says he does.

At least it's stopped me agreeing to him entering the freehold - I was on the verge.

Thanks again. I'll probably be back here with more tales about him.

We are LLs, the estate agents have the keys, we don't have a set.